This Hindi movie is a pretty straightforward slice-of-life story that tries to give a modern look at what it's like to be a single, professional gay man. It dives into how he understands who he is, the chances he missed out on, and the personal choices he’s made along the way. The director used three parallel timelines to tell the story, which honestly didn't make much sense to me. While the core idea was actually pretty interesting, I really feel like this would have worked way better as a short film considering the point it was trying to make. Still, it wasn't a bad watch. The plot centers on Rachit, a city professional, and his friend Shikhar as they hang out for an evening. Rachit is a polished, urban guy, while Shikhar has more of a "small-town" rustic vibe, and you can really see the contrast between them when they talk. As the night goes on, Rachit starts thinking back to some old memories from a long time ago. He remembers being an intern after college in ...
Jeffrey's Hollywood Screen Trick: A very funny and witty look at the gay 'dance party' and the associated interaction between gay men at this type of event. Using clever animation involving Billy love dolls, you may actually laugh while watching this one. Though the ending might comes as a shock.
Shame No More: An extremely clever send up of the 50's propaganda films denouncing homosexuality and the ability to 'cure', though here it is the heterosexuals with the problem! Beautifully filmed to realistically look like a 1950's film.
Soda Pop: A lovely tale of unrequited teenage first love. It's amazing how the filmmaker made it look like it was shot in the 70's.
The Trey Billings Show: The longest of the short films, this deals with a very low budget cable TV show hosted by an interesting character called Trey Billings. The film delves into why a lot of gay men worship female icons of yesteryear (though in a total side-splitting way!)
Dirty Baby Does Fire Island: Involving an animated baby doll with live footage - you wouldn't believe the situations Baby comes across like the secret joy and torment of poppers, cocaine, bulging muscles and sweaty sex.
Pyongyang Robogirl: Probably my least favourite of the films, it's basically a film depicting a female traffic controller in an Asian country. What was the point of this film?
These shorts are breathless reminders of what queer cinema was like before films like Parting Glances paved the way for lifeless gaysploitation like Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss and Trick. This collection did not do it for me. (3/10)
Comments